Bentley Mulsanne sold out

The Bentley customers have booked all the Mulsanne units to be built by 2012. The British company considers increasing the production to meet the demand.

The Brits from Bentley announced that all Mulsanne units which will be produced by 2012 have been booked by customers. By 2012, the Crewe manufacturer has committed to build 800 Bentley Mulsanne units to meet orders made before. Although officials have announced that Bentley take into account the increase in production, it will not be achieved easily.

As you know, Bentley Mulsanne is painted in 86 hours and the assembling takes 170 hours. The painting of all 800 units that will be produced by 2012 will take about 68,800 hours and their assembly will take 136,000 hours. Increasing the number of employees is not an option for those of Bentley than small areas because of their training lasts very long, and each employee needs a time until it is ready for production line.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne ultimate luxury

When Bentley parted ways with Rolls-Royce in 1998, it still had some co-developed models in its line-up. The last of those, the Arnage sedan, has finally been replaced with a new flagship sedan, the Mulsanne, representing Bentley's new beginning under Volkswagen ownership.

Designed for absolute luxury, the Mulsanne gets a cabin filled with detailed coachwork, a powerful and sophisticated power train, Volkswagen's latest navigation system, and an outstanding audio system from Naim.

We spent some time looking over the Muslanne's details at the 2010 Detroit auto show and found a cabin that is covered in impeccable materials. The few plastics used for buttons are wrapped in metal enclosures, while the shifter is a big, wooden spindle topped by metal brightwork. Its wood details have matching grains from side to side. At this level of luxury, customers can opt for a wide variety of cabin materials and colors, or go completely bespoke.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

• Key Competitors: Rolls-Royce Phantom and Maybach
  
  if you remember who they are.
• Power: 6.75L twin-turbocharged V8 – 505-hp / 752 lb-ft of torque.
• Transmission: ZF 8-speed automatic.
• Availability: On sale now.
• Pricing: $285,000.

Since Bentley was not present at the 2009 LA Auto Show last month, it decided to come to Detroit with its new flagship sedan – the 2010 Bentley Mulsanne.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

Bentley Motors, a manufacturer of cars that offers the world’s most exclusive driving experience showcase the new Mulsanne last August 16, 2009 at Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in Monterey California. Mulsanne is Bentley’s all-new flagship grand tourer. This prestigious car is envisioned, fashioned, and engineered at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England.

Mulsanne, which has a new and distinctive platform, is designed and inspired by Bentley’s founder W.O. Bentley. Engineers of the company were asked to create a car that would serve as the peak of British luxury motoring. As the result of their passionate engineers, they come up with a luxury grand tourer that offers a new standard of comfort, easy performance, and handcrafted sophistication. The 8 litre Mulsanne is created with the help of the guiding principles that were also used when Bentley manufactured a grand luxury car that is able to surpass every other leading manufacturer during the year 1930. The original Mulsanne 8 litre can reach a speed of more than 100 mph. Its performance is breathtaking and the quality unquestionable. Its mechanical details truly showcase the W.O. Bentleys unique stamp and it also exhibits the most vivid demonstration of a manufactured car without compromise. Mulsanne will also be displayed during the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show this September 15-27, 2009 and will be on sale in the mid 2010.

Bentley Motors to introduce 'Mulsanne' super-luxury car by 2011 in India

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

Bentley Motors, which had unveiled its new flagship model – the Mulsanne – at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event in August this year, is looking to launch it in the Indian market too, probably in the next couple of years if media reports are to be believed.

According to Business Standard, though the details of the launch have not been officially confirmed, it has been learnt that the super-luxury car will be handcrafted as per the customers and will attract over 100 per cent import duty. It is to be mentioned that the British ultra-luxury carmaker had already announced that production of the car will start early next year globally. Prices for the 2010 Bentley Mulsanne will start at £220,000 (Rs. 1.69 crore) in the UK, which means this V8-engined luxury grand tourer is likely to cost more than Rs. 3.5 crore when it finally comes to India, which will probably not happen before 2011. Like all its other models, the aforesaid model would be rolled out from its factory in Crewe, England.

The car is equipped with a revised version of Bentley’s 6.8-litre twin-turbo V8, which produces 512 horsepower and 1,020Nm of torque. The new Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale in the US and in Europe by mid-2010 and was also displayed at the forthcoming IAA Frankfurt Motor Show (15-27th September, 2009) where Bentley will provide additional information about the car.

The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley’s crowning achievement in 1930, the Bentley 8-litre, which was first shown in 1930 and 100 units of which were built from 1930-31. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new platform, will go into production in 2010. The car will be made in a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory in the UK.

According to Bentley, “Expression of interest in the new Mulsanne easily exceeds 2010 production targets for the car, which will be built at the company’s facility in Crewe, in the UK. To give you an idea of exactly how a Bentley Mulsanne is in a different league from, say, a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or a BMW 7 Series car, the Mulsanne will be offered in 114 paint colours, 21 carpet colours, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides. Hand-built to a large extent, each Mulsanne will take up to nine weeks to assemble.”

Read more: Bentley Motors to introduce 'Mulsanne' super-luxury car by 2011 in India - WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
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2010 Bentley Mulsanne

Bentley took the wraps off its new Mulsanne flagship ultra-luxury sedan at the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, the Mulsanne will be the centerpiece of Bentley’s showcase at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Specific details like engines, new technologies, pricing, and features will likely be announced then.

The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentleys crowning achievement in 1930, the 8-litre.

Bentley to Officially Debut Mulsanne Flagship

Technically speaking, Bentley already unveiled its Arnage successor at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, but the regal British automaker was tight-lipped about any specifics.

Details of the new Mulsanne will be unveiled tomorrow (September 15th) at the Frankfurt Auto Show, where we expect to learn about the impressive fuel-economy improvements Bentley has made with this new model. About all we do know is that the Mulsanne, much like the Arnage, is powered by a 6.75-liter V8. The engine has been reworked almost entirely, however, and we expect this model to be able to run on ethanol as well as gasoline. And of course, the engine’s power output will increase as well.

The design is certainly impressive with a massive front grille with huge circle headlights and lots of chrome.

As for the car’s name, it comes from the same place as the Arnage - France’s famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe race track. On that track the Mulsanne straight is actually two straights, which have been divided up with a chicane so as to limit the overall speed that race cars can achieve. Modern racers have to slow from over 200 mph to 65 mph to run the chicane, before taking to the second-half of the straight.

Bentley sees signs of revival in luxury car class

Bentley, owned by Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), is seeing some signs of
revival in the super luxury vehicle segment and expects sales
of premium cars to improve next year, one of its top executives
said on Friday.

"We can see some movement. There is some activity going
on," said Christophe Georges, chief operating officer of the
Americas division. "We expect the last part of this year to be
a little better."

He added, "2010 should be the start of a new business
cycle."

Georges, who spoke on the sidelines of a media event, was
in San Francisco to unveil the iconic British manufacturer's
new flagship model Mulsanne. The new sedan will replace the
Arnage, which starts at about $225,000.

The Mulsanne, aimed at the super-wealthy, will go on sale
in Europe next summer and will make its debut in the U.S.
market in third quarter of 2010. It will also be displayed at
the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.

Georges declined to reveal the price of the Mulsanne. The
least expensive Bentley, the Continental Flying Spur model,
starts at $191,500.

Based in Crewe, England, Bentley is also getting ready to
launch a sports car. The Continental Supersports can run on
ethanol and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds.

Super-luxury carmakers, typically immune to the
boom-and-bust cycles that affect their mass-market
counterparts, were hurt in the past year by the fallout from
the credit crisis and the economic slowdown.

The wealthy shunned luxury cars during the recession as
they saw their net worth decline following the collapse in
financial markets and real-estate values.

Bentley's U.S. sales are down 57 percent to 863 units
through August this year.

"Luxury has a reputation for being immune to recessions,"
Georges said. "The (current) crisis has severely affected the
overall luxury market."

Bentley has seen customers put off purchases for hand-made
vehicles that take an average of nine weeks to build.

"Customers are there but they have postponed their
purchases because of lack of confidence", Georges said.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

2010 Bentley Mulsanne at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel

Bentley invited a few of us auto journo types down to the decadently posh Beverly Wilshire Hotel to meet its COO Christophe Georges and admire the company's new super land yacht, the 2010 Bentley Mulsanne. Not only that, but they spilled the beans on all the juicy technical details that makes the Mulsanne, well, special. And please trust us, the Mulsanne is special.

One small catch, however. All them juicy details are embargoed until next week during the Frankfurt Motor Show. So even though we know the exact, staggering amount of power the Mulsanne will be sending to its rear wheels – and trust us again, it is staggering – we can't tell you. Yet. Infuriating, no? But, we did learn a couple of juicy details that we can share with you in this here teaser post. Better than nothing, right?

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

Today, Bentley Motors unveiled the Mulsanne, the company's all-new flagship grand tourer, at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance in Monterey, California.

The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley's crowning achievement in 1930, the 8-litre. And it was W.O.'s own sensitively conserved company car that shared the podium with the new Mulsanne in Pebble Beach. This early motoring masterpiece represented the last big Bentley that was designed, engineered and built from the ground up by Bentley engineers - until now.

Nearly 80 years later, while paying respect to this illustrious past, the new Mulsanne is a thoroughly modern statement of luxury driving and grand touring. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley's headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new and unique platform, goes into production next year in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory.

Introducing the Bentley Mulsanne at Pebble Beach, where Bentley was the featured marque, Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors, said:

"The challenge we set our engineers was to create a new grand Bentley that would stand as the pinnacle of British luxury motoring, offering the world's most exclusive driving experience. They have responded to this challenge with real passion and the result is a luxury grand tourer that sets new standards in terms of comfort, effortless performance and hand-crafted refinement - the very qualities for which Bentley is renowned."

The Bentley design team, lead by Dirk van Braeckel, have created a flagship that offers the classic sporting, styling cues long-associated with Bentley - expressed in a thoroughly contemporary way.

"From the very first hand sketches in the styling studio, we were inspired by the traditions of the grand touring Bentleys and have sought to evolve this story for a new generation of Bentley enthusiasts."

The return of the Mulsanne name to a car carrying Bentley's iconic ‘Winged B' emblem underlines the company's racing pedigree and nowhere reflects that heritage better than the famed Le Mans circuit, the scene of no fewer than six Bentley triumphs. Few places offer a stronger or more emotive connection with the Bentley marque than the famed Mulsanne corner.

The Bentley 8-litre displayed alongside the Mulsanne in California was first shown at the 1930 London Motor Show. It was the second-built and was W.O. Bentley's company car for two years. Capable of reaching more than 100 mph, the 8-litre demonstrated W.O. Bentley's ambition and ability to build a grand luxury car capable of surpassing every other leading manufacturer of the day. A total of 100 cars were built in 1930 and 1931.

"The 8-litre's breathtaking performance and quality was perhaps the finest example of a ‘pure' grand Bentley. Every mechanical detail carried W.O. Bentley's unique stamp and it was the clearest demonstration of a car built without compromise," commented Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board Engineering.

"The Mulsanne has been designed with exactly the same guiding principles, so it is entirely fitting that these Bentleys from different eras share the same stage."

The Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale from mid 2010. It will also be displayed at the forthcoming IAA Frankfurt Motor Show (15-27th September, 2009) where Bentley Motors will provide additional product information.